Living 4 Eternal Bliss

No Sex, No Glory

noreply@blogger.com (Ruthie) — Wed, 15 Aug 2012 05:04:00 +0000

In our modern world, casual sexuality is just that- casual. On the popularized and heavily promoted "reality" (far from, at least I hope) TV dating shows, ie: Bachelor Pad (DON'T EVEN GET ME STARTED), The Bachelor, and The Bachelorette, sex before marriage is treated as a "test drive" to find your soul mate. With such great influences, I can see how so many young people think it is the "norm" to leave no leaf unturned when it comes to sexuality.
Reference: A History of Ridiculous Reality Dating Shows

But I have to ask... How long is our culture going to keep ridiculing those who choose to honor God's commandments over the world's standards; especially those worldly standards which are as fleeting and marred as the common dating practices!?

Case and point: Lolo Jones is an Olympic-level hurdler, safe to say she is a "good" athlete, and preforms at the "elite" level right? Right. Okay, so she got 4th (in the entire world) at the Olympics in the 100m hurdles. Which SUCKS, but still - She is a great athlete and is completely worthy of admiration and respect. So... WHY did the Twitter-verse blow up ridiculing her for staying a virgin and honoring her commitment to save sex for marriage. Read the story here: Critics Blame Lolo Jones Virginity On Her Poor Olympic Performance.

More articles >
- Blog: Lolo Jones
- Lolo Jones: The Most Eligible Bachelorette of The Olympics

I see it all the time in modern culture, and even (or especially?) in the fitness world. Athletes and fitness models are treated as sex symbols not ATHLETES and FITNESS MODELS. For women, it seems if she isn't seen as "sexy" then it's: NO SEX, NO GLORY.

A female athlete or fitness model's success and popularity (glory), is highly enhanced if men think she's "sexy" (Ex: Jamie Eason, Lolo Jones, Hope Solo, Jennifer Nicole Lee, Nathalia Melo), which is what drives (I'm guessing) most fitness models to be sexy-fitness models.

JNL

Jamie Eason

Now, I could argue it's as much the person in the photo's responsibility to keep unclean thoughts from happening as it is the person looking at the photo. I mean, who's really having the sexual thoughts? The observer. BUT there's some responsibility to prevent yourself from encouraging those thoughts, right? BUT there are people who see a woman preforming a sport (Hope Solo, Lolo Jones) and get all sexual about it by default. How can you prevent that!? Not play soccer? Not hurdling? ... Not fitness modeling?... How about not be a pervert!? I can see both sides of the story. Ok, posing nude (see below) is not helping your sex symbol vs. athlete profile, Lolo ....

But let's be honest, I MYSELF have done some less than "athletic" photo shoots. YES, at times I have been blinded by what is definitely a strong pull to do sexual photo shoots. I am only human, and thank God we have Him, because the heart of man (woman) is desperately wicked!

Some fitness modeling's photos aren't as obviously sexy or athletic. Often they ride a thin line... for example, certain photos of Jamie Eason are what inspired me to get ripped and build muscle, but those same photos can encourage lust just as easily. In one light it can inspire and motivate women to get fit and be confident and happy with their bodies... but on the other hand, all some guys see when they look at the photo is SEX SEX SEX.

What did you think when you looked at my photo? (Now ask 50 men and 50 women the same question and imagine the varied answers!) Now I'm not singling out men... I admit I have looked at male fitness model photos and thought the words "He's sexy" instead of "What great definition in his pecs, I wonder if he trained with drop sets," but for my purposes in this post I am focusing on the sexuality placed on female athletes.

This post is as much a riducule of the immoral, secular, sex-driven modern culture as it is a personal confession of my conforming to it. I am a FITNESS model and I compete and model to be ATHLETIC and FIT not sexy, desireable, and an object of lust for men; yet, this is what you get when you google "fitness model:"

Now-a-days, sex is everywhere. Especially wherever the focus is on the human body - like sports and fitness modeling. Even if the focus on the human body is suposed to be focused on training it, building muscle, developing athletic ability, and growing stronger.... sex creeps in.

Every competition, photo shoot, post, and fitness expo I have done in the past I have learned from- I learned when I was wrong, when I was right, and how to stand my ground when it comes to Christian morals. Last spring I began to chase what I feel is my "calling" and my deep driving desire to help others by being an inspiring voice and good role model in the fitness industry.

My desire is to inspire people of all types & backgrounds to live a healthy life. If I can motivate just one person to choose to resist the world, choose to love their God, and choose to honor Him by taking care of the beautiful creation that He crafted for us - our bodies- then I have fullfilled my calling in this life!

I train in Jesus' name, I train to mold myself into the best version of me; to be all God intended me to be: in health, in heart, in spirit, and most importantly... IN HIM.

I am so so far from the perfect creation God sees I can be. Many times- and many more times- I will sin, act immaturely, not care for others, be self absorbed, forget to pray, harbor unforgiveness, serve the world's desires, and lose sight of the never-ending joy available to me through my greatest gift: salvation. But what I will ALWAYS do is strive to not make the same mistake twice, and to always grow more and more like Chrirst until my heart is like His. I pray that I will ALWAYS repent and come running to the cross. And for anyone reading this, I pray that when this life (as inperfect, secular, sinful, or immoral as it may be) is over, I'll see YOU in HEAVEN because you too believed upon Jesus (John 3:16) and were given the free gift of eternal life.

Here's to Living 4 Eternal Bliss.

Foster your health to honor God and live a
happy, healthy life; NOT to satisfy the
world's unyeilding pull to "get sexy."

No sex, no glory? That's fine. Glory be to God; not me.

Blessings,
~ Ruthie

Art Imitating Life, or Life Imitating Art?

noreply@blogger.com (Ruthie) — Tue, 07 Aug 2012 22:04:00 +0000

Oscar Wilde once said in his 1889 essay The Decay of Lying that "Life imitates Art far more than Art imitates Life."

In the essay, Wilde holds that such anti-mimesis "results not merely from Life's imitative instinct, but from the fact that the self-conscious aim of Life is to find expression, and that Art offers it certain beautiful forms through which it may release that energy."

Isn't that a gracefully-accurate description of the life-long desire of us all? To find something in life that conveys one's "self" and expresses your individual talents, personality, and tastes.
At some point, we have all found ourselves wanting "more" out of life from time to time... Sadly, for some this quest is left unfulfilled; even as death stops the search for good.

For others, however, the search ends joyously - in either the practice of art as one's lifework and job; or the consention to practice art as more or less a hobby, but one that adds expression to life none-the-less. I must note that, as Christians, we are "not of this world" (John 15:19--If ye were of the world, the world would love his own; but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you.) ... So there will always be a certain deep yearning desire for something we cannot find in this world; whether we look at the beauty in the world itself or we can form art from within ourselves (expression).

God's art = nature ...

... Flowers...

.... the scenes of fall....

.... clouds....

... snowflakes.... AND....

... in US... the human form.

God created beautiful art when He made the world and
when He made humans to live in the world.

Despite an ever-present God-filled void, God DID put us on this earth in the first place, and He wants us to have life, "and life more abundant." We can most assuredly express ourselves and find joy in releasing the energy within ourselves.

HOW? Well, to each his own.
For me: I find a great artistic quality to the human body itself. Much as I see nature's beauty as the masterpiece at the tip of God's paint brush- so I consider the human body when it is in its peak condition. This is what drives me to train, to persistently perform at my highest level, to improve on a daily basis, to cut away all which holds me back, and to pursue that which drives me continually upward in mind, body, and spirit. It is impossible to train the body without conquering the mind and nourishing the spirit.

Physical training is taking care of your
God given personal masterpiece

Joy comes from treating God's creation
(yourself and others) with great care and love

I tap my joy and satisfaction from knowing I am doing my best to care for my own God-given vessel, and inspiring others to do the same by sharing my growth, victories, and failures. That's my life as art. In my experience, if life is lived to the fullest- Life IS Art and Art IS Life. I say this because of the uniqueness of each human life. I believe that no life is an imitation of another, but instead: each is completely original, unique, and organically all its own.

Does your life imitate "art?" To answer this, first I must ask- what is artistic to you? What organic beauty do you find yourself striving to be like/ be with/ see/ do ....
After you've identified what you consider to be art, answer me this:
Is it true that "Life imitates Art far more than Art imitates Life." ???
Or, as I suggest- Life IS Art and Art IS Life.

I know this is kind of a different topic than usual, but as I was searching for the "next step" in my life I fell into the question of, "What do I want to do with this life?" In the end it came down to: I want to love like God loved me; I want to share that love, and live in that love. I discovered that any accomplishments that I can write up beside my name mean NOTHING if I don't have love... so why not let my life be my song (a form of art) to sing praises to my King, and to bring joy to my spirit? I want nothing more.

Blessings,
~ Ruthie

Who I Want To Be

noreply@blogger.com (Ruthie) — Wed, 11 Jul 2012 23:15:00 +0000

At this point in my life, I have been thrust into the realization that I need to make a decision: Who do I want to be?

Everything that was "upcoming" has now come: graduation, move, pro card, first real job... and I am faced with the somewhat terrifying (I'll explain why later) possibility to just coast and decide that good enough is good enough. I could easily sit back and say, "Hey look- I did it, cool. That was fun." Why do I find that terrifying? That one little word: "WAS." It is utterly awful to imagine the best things in my life, my greatest goals and accomplishments all happening before my 23rd birthday; with nothing else great or challenging to follow. I could be satisfied with that !? I AM satisfied with my accomplishments, but I am NOT satisfied for them to be the end of my pursuit of excellence. I did however, play with the idea... the idea of just being "normal" ... of pulling completely out of competing in fitness shows and chilling out as an average girl, of not setting a new goal. Ya know, no crazy challenging workouts, no 4:30am cardio, no cross-country trips for photo-shoots or competitions. Just me.

I'll be straight with you, I even half-tried it for two weeks. Not as much in practice, but in my head I sure did. I had a rough start getting food poisoning on my first day back from Jr. Nationals, and ended up taking most of that week off from training. But the next week I woke up and did an hour of cardio at 4:30am, then switched to evening cardio the following week; I did food prep; I went to the gym (most days); and even toyed with starting a Pro show prep, or booking some photo shoots, or maybe "get super lean" ?? I didn't know what I wanted! Offset that with my gratuitous love of food, new location -> new restaurants, new found freedom, and overall high stress level (due to all the changes) and you have an tremulous combination of indecision and half-on/half-off fitness commitment. Let me say this; "You CANNOT serve two masters." You cannot indulge in tasty food + work out like a maniac; stay up late + wake up early; not care anymore + want to stay on the plan. You simply CAN. NOT. It will (and did) tear a "follow the plan" and "do your best" kinda girl in two. I am being honest with you here not because I feel this is a deeply insightful observation (more like a no duh!), but because I want to be brutally honest with myself, and with you.

I was not being who I wanted to be! I was stressed out, pulled in a million directions, and not committing to anything. Want to know the biggest problem with that? I wasn't committing to God's plan for me. I wasn't trusting He had one! I wasn't leaning on His strength, or any one's, I was crashing. Here is where brutal honesty comes in: if one day you find yourself staring in the mirror and a person aren't proud to be, for heaven's sakes change it! Some people deceive themselves by thinking they can hide from God, but you have to agree that you will never escape the presence of yourself. If "you" doesn't like you, doesn't want to be you, and doesn't want to work with you; then you have truly reached then end of joy, happiness, improvement, peace, love, and quite frankly everything good about life. As complicated as that seems to be, the fix is easy: STOP being that old you, and start practicing the attributes you admire. For example, for me this looked like:

- Loving: nice to others, listens, shows care for friends and family, puts others above self no matter what.

- Consistent: unwavering pattern of good diet and fitness habits, shows up on time, goes to bed at a decent hour, doesn't impulse buy or waste time/money.

- Joyful: full of the joy of knowing my Savior, secure in the incredible plan God has laid out for me to discover, happy for other's successes and gifts, finds the good in every situation.

- Calm/Courageous: Undeterred by obstacles, persistently striving forward, finds a way to make it work, takes every advantage to succeed, doesn't play the victim or just "cry about it."

Get where I'm going with this?? ... You can think of your own character attributes and descriptions I'm sure. The governing decision was that: "Hey I want to be better today. I deserve to be better today. My God deserves me to try harder today." I want the characteristics of who I am to be: loving, consistent, joyful, calm and courageous. I want to be THAT girl!

I now strongly believe that we all NEED to aspire to something ... to want to be better. I no longer see it as a chore and a burden to make a new goal after the old one is met; it is exciting and gives me something to strive towards, and focus my energy on. Plus, it means I accomplished what I thought was a lofty dream, and now I get to reach even HIGHER.

* "Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It's not just in some of us; it's in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others." ~ Marianne Williamson *

* "Pain is temporary. It may last a minute, or an hour, or a day, or a year, but eventually it will subside and something else will take its place. If I quit, however, it lasts forever." ~ Lance Armstrong *

* “The greater danger for most of us lies not in setting our aim too high and falling short; but in setting our aim too low, and achieving our mark." ~ Michelangelo *

Link to: More quotes :) on success and goals.

Holy Life-Changes Batman!!

noreply@blogger.com (Ruthie) — Wed, 27 Jun 2012 22:44:00 +0000

Competing, Moving, New Job...

I can't even begin to re-cap the changes in the last 2 weeks! To explain my bad blogger absense, I blame the rediculous number of life changing events I have recently undergone. Which are:

~ Moving to Bremerton, WA (permanently!? Gasp)

~ Owning my very first piece of furniture (okay, not a life change... but I am just so proud lol. It's a bed in case you were wondering)

~ Competing in and WINNING my class at Jr Nationals (see next bullet...)

~ EARNING MY IFBB PRO CARD

~ Officially becoming a paid Mechanical Engineer of Puget Sound Naval Shipyard

Being in 4 states in 4 days can make your head spin :-O I am STILL trying to adjust to the Seattle-style weather over here, the plethora of trees, and the absence of my friends and family (tear). All is well though and this is a GOOD thing that I moved; it's just always hard to adjust to a new environment.

In case you are curious, pictures from Jr. Nationals where I earned my Pro card and became an IFBB Pro Bikini athlete are available here: Ruthie Harrison Bikini Athlete Fan Page, under the Album "Jr. Nationals." Please "like" my page and "share" it too if you would be so kind ;)

I hope everyone has had a good end to June, the 4th of July is almost here!! Is it seriously that far into summer!? Goodness time flies :)

Blessings,
~ Ruthie

Now THAT'S a Bachelorette Party!!

noreply@blogger.com (Ruthie) — Fri, 08 Jun 2012 16:42:00 +0000

As her maid of honor, I can officially say Leeza's second bachelorette (local edition) was a huge success. But because a picture is worth a thousand words....

I give you photo-recap! ;)

"F" is friends that do stuff together, "U" is for you and me, "N" is for anywhere and anytime at all! = FUN night!! And no, I didn't drink a drop... or dance on any tables ;)

Blessings,
~ Ruthie

Sunday Share.... Neon

noreply@blogger.com (Ruthie) — Sun, 27 May 2012 15:50:00 +0000

How're my peeps? ;)

Montana has morphed into Washington over here and refuses to stop raining, snowing, and being all gross, so that means I will:

Listen to John Legend
Plan my bestie's 2nd (yes 2 ... she deserves it!) bachelorette party
Blog
Waste time on Pinterest
Do my nails
Cook things
Practice posing
Remain indoors at the gym for 3+ hours at a time.

Hey, never mind... I think I don't mind the rain! Let's discuss the previous items in no particular order. What does all this have to do with "NEON?" Stay tuned.

Well dang-it John Legend has nothing to do with Neon but he is now the main man in my life and has taken over my iPod so I must declare his swoon-worthy, breathy, mesmerizing voice and ivory-tickling piano skills my #1 favorite thing about rainy days.

HOW did I miss out on his musical deliciousness before!? I should be ashamed. I just discovered him while watching TV and stumbled across his new show with Robin Thicke, Jennifer Nettles, Kelly Clarkson, "Duets." (something I never used to do before I graduated and actually have a bit of time on my hands).

All I can say is if you haven't seen "Duets," watch it!

Moving on before I have a moment..... Ah yes, Neon! That would be related to the next couple thangs:

Bachelorette party
Blog
Waste time on Pinterest

Like so: the theme of Leeza's bachelorette partay is Neon, I am currently blogging about neon :p, and I have been wasting time "pinning" things on Pinterest all related to Neon! Ahhhh for the love of humanity it must stop! You can check out my Pinterest account for full disclosure, but here are a few examples just in case you are terrified to enter the black-hole that is Pinterest and feel it is best you do not tempt the procrastination/compulsive organizing and styling side of your brain...

I. AM. IN. LOVE. <3 The shoes! The dress! The nails! The blazers!

I am thrilled I get to find "neon" outfit for the party. Woop woop!

This is gonna be fun :)

The remainder of the list, ... will wait until a later blog sesh to cover, except the nails (see picture below)

Do my nails
Cook things
Practice posing
Remain indoors at the gym for 3+ hours at a time

I gotta stop blogging and get to the last thing on the list! Call me crazy but I love the gym and sometimes I forget all about time and end up spending half my day there. Ooops :-o

Shout out to my girl Beth for the accent nail inspiration ;)

Tootsies and fingers ready for summer, now where's that sunshine?....

Blessings,

~ Ruthie

~~ Weekend Pictures + Zipfizz Giveaway!!! ~~

noreply@blogger.com (Ruthie) — Wed, 23 May 2012 16:33:00 +0000

~ Hi ya'll!
I'll keep my recap of girl's weekend in Seattle brief because I am sure you all are much more interested in how to get FREE Zipfizz than what I did last weekend ;) If you are unfamiliar with Zipfizz read my review post of visit their website at the links below:

God has a sense of humor when it comes to orchestrating his people's lives... Sometimes I just don't get the joke though! Funny thing is, Seattle was beautiful, sunny, warm and perfect when we were there; and as soon as we got home Montana got all cloudy, rainy, and cold! Boo.

The weather held out long enough for us to have a great time celebrating Leeza's upcoming wedding, and we got some great pictures :)

First, a little exploring after our 10 hour drive to get there...

Escalator fun :)

Look at this fun cup I found! It says, " Too Hot For My Bikini."

Then on to Pike's Place!

Ooo la la flowers <3

We were saying it would be AWESOME if we could get Pike Place
flowers for the wedding! Anyone wanna make the trip to get them ;) ?

And of course, a personal favorite... asparagus.
YUM. I love it!

Whatdya know, there were several Zipfizz sightings in Seattle... the first, Protein Planet! I stopped in here to get a protein shake (of course) and spied a familiar little tube of energy :)

Represent!!

On Saturday, Zipfizz was spied again after some robust shoe shopping left us seeking energy...

Woot woot for Zipfizz!

The loot was worth the energy it took to
find them, and at GREAT prices!
Both pairs of shoes for under $60

All the girls LOVED Zipfizz and were asking me for it on the trip home. I ran out though from giving it away so next time I'll have to be sure to travel with lots of extras!

We still found the energy to take silly pictures and have lots of fun though ;)

Getting ready for dinner

Teaching Kellee a model T-pose, she's gettin' it!

Besties 4 Life

About as much as you will ever see me drink, a capful LOL.

We work out ;)

Yup, told ya we work out lol.

Bridal party picture with Momma Hencz,
Leeza and the girls awesome mommy (far right)

And Momma took one for us girls too. Finally, we're ready to go out!

~* Shoes *~

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Ready for a GIVEAWAY now? Good, I thought so :) I am giving away a FREE sample pack of Zipfizz to 1 lucky winner! The prize pack includes:

All the Zipfizz flavors (duplicates of my favorites, for 7 total - a week's worth!)
A Zipfizz water bottle
Zipfizz coupons and stickers

Why yes, there is a shameless trophy shot in the
background :p I worked hard for that thing!

HOW TO ENTER. It's simple! Do the following 2 tasks on Facebook:

"Like" & Share my Facebook fan page: www.facebook.com/BikiniRuthie

Tag the page in the post (you'll have to "like it to do this) so I know you've entered.
If you can't tag it for some reason (Facebook mobile, ect), leave a comment below with your name so I know you shared the page!

"Like" & Share Zipfizz's page: www.facebook.com/ZipfizzHealthyEnergy

Tag the page in the post again (you'll have to "like it to do this)
Be sure you share BOTH pages or else your entry won't be complete!

ENDING: I will choose a winner by the END OF THE DAY (6pm - Mountain Time)

WINNER: I will contact the winner via Facebook so be sure to tag the pages and check your messages to know if you won!

Good luck everyone!!

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Blessings,

~ Ruthie

The Graduate

noreply@blogger.com (Ruthie) — Thu, 17 May 2012 20:47:00 +0000

Some things are just so worth it....

Case and point: 4 years of devotion to school, late nights pouring over homework, early mornings up studying, weekends spent building dune buggy projects, days and days spent writing term papers, and oh... while you're at it why don't you tutor the underling engineers in their Statics, Dynamics, and Thermodynamics that you passed, and can now pass on your supreme knowledge to the fledgling aspiring graduates.

Well, this weekend marked the end of a season for me. As far as the foreseeable future goes I am no longer a student. Not enrolled in classes, no teachers, no campus, no ~~homo~~homework, and NO papers!! Oww oww!!!

Peace OUT Tech, it's been real...

Nothing is more fulfilling than graduating with honors; from the very same school my dear papa graduated from many years ago :) I am so proud and honored and blessed and just- relieved!

Alumni <3

I received the General Engineering Department's
Student Award for Outstanding Achievement. Booyah!!

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=--=-=-=-=-

What does "The Graduate" do with her copious free time and lack of classes to attend? Ha, a whole lot less!

So far I've been waking up far too late in the "morning," spending 3+ hours in the gym per day, and practicing walking/posng till my toes are numb.

Practice makes perfect....
Just put one foot in front of the other!

My friend, and an international beauty pageant queen ;) - Melissa - has been teaching me sooooooo many things I didnt know about how to place my feet/hands/hips/shoulders... heck, BODY, when I present for prejudging. Why didn't I ask her to coach me sooner!? All I can say is ya'll Bikini gurls betta watch out, there's a new fitness diva in town ;)

I'm channeling Victoria's Secret catwalk
attitude for my walk and posing ;)

I got some new kicks with ankle straps (vital for getting the right leg extension and stride for walking) and they're also a good inch taller- ya know, cuz I'm kinda short.. LOL.

These babies are gonna carry me to my Pro card, you KNOW
the reason women accomplish great things is because of the shoes!

So, besides all that walkin' stuff I am also tweaking my posing, most notably my back pose. You'll just have to wait and see the differences in that though...

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=--=-=-=-=-

In other news, I am off to Seattle this weekend for my friend Leeza's bachelorette party. It's gonna be a BLAST and I can't wait.

I attended my beautiful friend Staci's bachelorette party last weekend here in Butte. She's a Bikini competitior too, can you tell?

Staci with herself as a Bikni-Staci cake :)

That's all for now folks! I'll be out of town until Monday with Leeza's partay. Have a great weekend yourselves and enjoy all this nice summer weather!!

Blessings,

~ Ruthie

2012 NPC Pittsburgh Recap

noreply@blogger.com (Ruthie) — Thu, 10 May 2012 21:27:00 +0000

~ Ello loves :)

2012 NPC Pittsburgh was last weekend on May 5th. And whelp...
I went, I saw, I got 5th.

Hyyuuuggge trophy!

Bombshells in my class with our trophies :)

I am so blessed to be able to do what I love and go to amazing places, hang out with my incredible teammates, and show off my hard work among my peers. Yup, all top 5 of them gorgeous gals are BOMBSHELLS. It isn't too shabby to lose to the best there is :)

The top 5 in my height class

I am definitely excited to have made the podium at such a large and prestigious show, and I was SUPER excited about my progress since my last show. This is definitely the best package: hair, makeup, suit, body, posing, I have brought to the Bikini stage to date.

________________________

Of course, I wanted to WIN. I could almost taste it. I wanted it bad. I worked harder than ever. I practiced, practiced, practiced. I did plyometrics till I cried. I fought cravings and waged war on fat cells... I was ready!! So why only 5th? I was disappointed at first, not gonna lie. 5th? Don't you mean 1st? Nope. Not this time, it wasn't my show. It wasn't my time.

Chalk this one up to Rule #3

I called my mom first thing after getting off the stage and broke the good/bad news of my 5th place trophy. She was supportive but understanding, considering she knows very well how much I had put into earning a 1st place bid. Then, I sucked it up and put a smile on, and decided that hey, this IS a victory and this IS success for me so there is NO reason I should fret about not being the perfect image of what the judges wanted to see that night, because I know deep down that I had made such huge improvements - both mentally and physically -throughout the preparation for this show that no one and nothing could ever steal that joy from me!

I can't believe it's been a year already! I don't feel like the same person at
all. I feel so much BETTER :D

________________________

Winning is an attitude, a state of mind, a mentality. It says, "I was my best and I am proud of that." It says, "I overcame what held me back last time, and I am stronger now." It says, "I won already when I got to motivate and inspire my friends, family, and people that I don't even know by committing to a fit lifestyle." And to the girl who took home the big #1 trophy you so intensely desired, it says, "Congratulations, you earned it and you deserve it. I'm happy for you!!" THAT's winning, and that's what I will always strive to do :)

My friend, teammate and all-time biggest inspiration Jaime Baird said it best in her latest blog on FitnessRx: Winning Lessons

The time will come. I'll earn the top spot soon, but until then
I will work my butt off, enjoy the journey, and keep improving!

As always... blessings,
~ Ruthie

________________________

PS - Gotta leave you with my favorite shot: the Bombshell booty! Lunge, squat, run, jump, repeat :)

Be Strong & Courageous

noreply@blogger.com (Ruthie) — Thu, 26 Apr 2012 17:53:00 +0000

FACT: I have experienced some world-shaking, mind-blowing revelations about my faith in the Lord lately, and to be quite honest - I am so FULL of joy and new-found confidence in his POWER, LOVE, VICTORY, and complete SERIOUSNESS about desiring me to follow Him that I simply cannot keep silent! I must share with you His awesomeness :)

I will set the stage by saying I believe the following two images completely define the truth of having SUCCESS in your future and your journey to accomplish great things. Notably, neither of these quotes come from the Bible - but the principles DO (as proven below). I want you to see though that the TRUTH IS THE TRUTH - If you don't have faith & confidence in yourself and what you wish to accomplish, you might as well STOP TRYING. Strong words I know, but I am saying this not to discourage you but to inspire you to...

Be Strong & Courageous.

Sounds simple - "Be strong and courageous, get the life of your dreams." Easy right? Well, this strength and courage I speak of DO NOT come from YOU... They come from the LORD, and to get them, you must realize your complete inadequacy and weakness, and rely wholly on Him. My journey to the "joy and new-found confidence in his POWER, LOVE, VICTORY, and complete SERIOUSNESS about desiring me to follow Him" that I mentioned earlier started in a very dark, broken, and completely weak place. I was so done. I lost. I couldn't do it. I didn't even wanna do it. I would never win. I was stuck losing. The truth is, I want self-destructing; and the harder I tried to stop, the better I got at doing it....

Competitive, driven people are often the ones to be hardest on themselves and do things that hurt themselves. I realized that it is because self-destructing never fails; you always can do it. But the thing is, even when you win at it, you always lose.

Okay, so now for the good stuff: what does the Bible say about this?

"When I refused to confess my sin, my body wasted away,
and I groaned all day long. Day and night Your hand of discipline was heavy on me.
My strength evaporated like water in the summer heat.
Finally, I confessed all my sins to You and stopped trying to hide my guilt.
I said to myself, “I will confess my rebellion to the LORD.”
And You forgave me! All my guilt is gone.
Therefore, let all the godly pray to you while there is still time, that they may not drown in the floodwaters of judgment. For you are my hiding place;
You protect me from trouble. You surround me with songs of victory.
The LORD says, “I will guide you along the best pathway for your life.
I will advise you and watch over you. Do not be like a senseless horse or mule
that needs a bit and bridle to keep it under control.” (Psalm 32:3-9 NLT)

I had been fighting and fighting and fighting, using my strength (thing is, I don't have any of my own, remember). I was exhausted. I fell on my face in front of the Lord, prayed with a Christian sister, and cried till my eyes were sore. I told my God, "Help me. I can't do it." And just like the Psalm says, HE DID! But what's with that horse and mule part?

It means you must actively pursue God's influence in your life, and choose to follow His laws and commandments (not requiring a bit and bridle - aka: constant guiding, coaching, and leading by someone else) to stick to His plan. You must believe and have faith in the Lord, that HIS WAY IS THE BEST WAY.

I, you, we ALL need God's strength. It is the "joy and new-found confidence in his POWER, LOVE, VICTORY, and complete SERIOUSNESS about desiring me to follow Him" that I keep talking about. Joyce Meyer said it like this:

"The joy of the Lord really is your strength and the devil knows that if he can rob you of your strength, that he will turn you into a weak, whining and ineffective Christian.

Did you know that the devil is not after your health? Did you realize that Satan could care less about your marriage or your finances? And your children don't mean a thing to the devil! What the devil is after is your joy and the way that he tries to steal your joy is by going after your health, your marriage, your finances and your children.

The devil knows that he cannot deny you of your salvation or of the forgiveness that Jesus has given to you. So, what he tries to steal is the most valuable commodity that he is able to get his greedy little hands on. Satan is relentless and he will do everything that he can to lie to you and eventually deceive you out of your joy.

Today, let me challenge you to stand toe to toe ... nose to nose with the accuser of the brethren and declare in his ugly little face, "Satan ... you can not!! You will not!! You will never be able to take my joy from me!"

When you choose to defy the enemy with the joy that Jesus died to give you, you will become a powerful force in the world today. God can use joyful Christians who are bold enough to hang onto their joy no matter what is going on in their circumstances."

Jesus told us before He returned to Heaven to be with the Father:

"The thief’s purpose is to steal and kill and destroy. My purpose is to give them (you!!) a rich and satisfying life." (John 10:10 NLT)

As a Christian in the world, I take on many roles: a student, an athlete, a daughter, a sister, an employee, and a friend. I am OBLIGATED to be the best I can be so I can show that God really CAN and DOES change lives, save people, and fill them with His joy and strength! If I sit around in my sin, wallowing in my old ways, only to every once in a while have a revival moment and be happy, and then fall back into doubt, destruction, and darkness, how will I ever help anyone!? I couldn't. Thing is... helping people is the single most important thing to me in this world. I won't live in defeat!!

"Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us." (Hebrews 12:1 NLT)

We all know I am a big health and fitness girl, so here's what one of the greats of the fitness world - Arnold Schwarzenegger said about success:

Oh, and here's a photo of Arnold:

Hmmm, think his faith had anything to do with his success?

... Starting to see the connection ;) ?

-------------------------------------

That's all for now folks! Until next time,

Blessings,
~ Ruthie

Almost Done!?

noreply@blogger.com (Ruthie) — Tue, 24 Apr 2012 19:01:00 +0000

* Hi there~ How has everyone been the last few weeks?

I got a lot done and that's always good. I feel like I passed the FE exam (but we won't know for a couple weeks - a couple months until the results are in), we completed building, testing, and presenting our Dune Buggy Senior Design project, and I even got to go to my friend Leeza's bachelorette party.

Here's a few pictures from that my activities! No photos are allowed during the FE test (hmmm, wonder why :p ?) so first up is the bachelorette party 2 weeks ago:

The bride and I

I'm the only one not engaged! Lucky me ;)

Save room for ice cream cake! Well I didn't,
but I hear it was good. Coldstone Cremery.

Leeza, the beautiful lady of the day :)

We're about to open gifts! No one was allowed to say,
"Pretty" or "Wow." We all lost lol.

Last weekend's major activity was FINISHING the buggy on Thursday (with not a day to spare lol) and PRESENTING our project on Friday morning. It was a great success!! Now just a report and a poster board to turn in, then the project is OVER.

We're done! Yay.

My team (L-R): Levi, Shane, Shawn, me

Me on campus after the presentation posing with our buggy

And look, I even did my hair and make-up
for the occassion! (both the dune buggy project and
the bachelorette party I might add hehe)

In other news, I am only 11 DAYS OUT from NPC Pittsburgh and I am super excited for it. Momma Bombshell is dialing me in and all I have to do is follow her instructions :) I had a stressful weekend the weekend of the FE and made some bad decisions-- no one is perfect, and I have forgiven myself, but I had to do a lot of seeking God and working with Him to overcome some wrong thinking I had -- more on that later... But the last week and a half has been GREAT and I am full steam ahead till Pitt!! I have also realized there's only a few things left to do with school/prepping for competition before I am DONE: do my show and then GRADUATE then next weekend! OMG. It's starting to set in...

I want to thank you all for your support of my many ventures and your interest in all the randomness I choose to share with you :) I appreciate you all very much. You keep me accountable, keep me pressing forward, and help me appreciate my many blessings in this life.

So being the busy-bee I am, I naturally am thinking: "After this, what's next?" Well - I start work at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard on June 18th, and yesterday I was super blessed to find a house to stay at for the first 4 months of my time there for no rent!! I will be house-sitting for a friend of a friend that also works at the shipyard (and went to Tech too!), but she'll be gone in San Diego working at Puget Sound's sister shipyard. I am excited to live there because the house is walking distance from the shipyard, and I get to take care of her cat he-he. I love cats!

Another announcement, though only in its early stages... I plan on COMPETING AGAIN the weekend before I start work at the 2012 NPC Jr. Nationals in Chicago, IL on June 16th.

http://www.npcjrnationals.com/

Yup, it's a PRO QUALIFIER :D We will SOON know if I am Pro-level or not :) I am already a winner on the inside for conquering my doubts, inner demons, the nay-sayers, the distractions, and the financial/mental/scheduling conflicts to get this far.... so whatever happens, happens!

So, yes, I'm almost done.... but the end of one thing only means the beginning of another :) Here we go!

Blessings,
~ Ruthie

"Taxing" Times

noreply@blogger.com (Ruthie) — Fri, 13 Apr 2012 16:25:00 +0000

I'm sure if you hear me say "I'm busy" one more time you'll smack me right in the face so I will refrain from stating the obvious... Everything is getting done all at once as I get ready to GRADUATE with a Mechanical Engineering degree in only 4 weeks, and before that I:

1) Take the Fundamentals of Engineeing Exam (or "FE," like the Bar exam for law) ... tomorrow!!
2) Test drive, make presentation, and present at Symposium our dune buggy Senior Design Project... testing this afternoon, presentation next Friday!
3) Compete in Pittsburgh at the 2012 NPC Pittsburgh Championships national bikini show.... 3 weeks from today!!
4) Graduate :)

I love being productive, and good thing!! Because boy, do I have to be lately.

This weekend is full of activities; first up the dune buggy testing, which I am SOOOO excited for :) Finally it's done and we can drive it! Then a booty workout, grocery shopping, and a little final review for the FE. Then tomorrow it's the FE test from 7am - 6pm (ooophta) and food prep. Sunday is early mornin' posing practice with my girls and tanning, then church and home to Whitehall for my friend Leeza's bridal shower! I am so happy for Leeza and I know we will have a blast at her party. She got me the cutest shirt yesterday for my Maid of Honor duties:

Adore!

I may be juggling a lot of things, but I constantly remind myself and am fully aware of how truly BLESSED I am and how so so so many things are working in my favor and I have only the Lord to thank for it. FOr example, yesterday I got my taxes done (after hours of searching for those darn W-2s!!) on TurboTax.com and found out I will get a Federal refund of over $1,000!! Blessing #1!! Also, about a week ago the State of MT sent me $100 for some past thing I overpaid for, blessing #2!! I got 100% on my Biology test last week, got a 95% on my big Energy Issues paper, and passed the FE practice test with a 73.4% (it's a standardized test that all you need to pass is a 60% because it's so hard). Blessings #3, #4, and #5!! The biggest relief and blessing though is our dune buggy being DONE and running as of today, whew... blessing #6. We've been working on it every weekend for the last 2 semesters and I am very happy to see it done.

I am sharing my blessings with you because, although I stress about being "busy" and having lots of homework, projects, contest prep stuff, bills, tax duties and beyond.... In the words of an old Christian psalm:

"Count your blessings, name them one by one,

Count your many blessings, see what God has done..."

I should never, never feel that I am not incredible blessed. So many are horribly less fortunate, and I have more than anyone could ask for. Case and point- a terrible tragedy has befallen the Kennedy family at Oxygen Magazine, a large well-known women's fitness publication, as it's founder and publisher, Robert Kennedy passed away this morning. "Tough Love" Bob lost his long battle with lung cancer and died this morning. That hit me like a brick wall as I thought of his wife, Tosca Reno, author of the incredible "Eat Clean Diet" book series, and his daughters, whom all will miss him dearly and must be heart-broken in pain right now. I think of how my own father is older than Bob was, and I almost tear up thinking that some day he too will have to leave me here; although I sincerely hope that is no time soon.

My heart goes out to Bob's friends and family,
I send you all my prayers.

To read the heart-breaking news first hand, and to leave a comment for his family go to this link: http://www.rkpubs.com/bob/

"We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they help us develop endurance. And endurance develops strength of character, and character strengthens our confident hope of salvation. And this hope will not lead to disappointment. For we know how dearly God loves us, because he has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with his love." (Romans 5:2-5 NLT)

~ I pray Tosca and her daughters be filled with peace, knowing their husband and father is in heaven, and that they are touched my God's undying love for them as they endure the trial and pain of losing a loved one so close to their heart. We will all miss Bob, and his great influence on the world of fitness.

As always.... Blessings,

~Ruthie

Ooo Pretty Colors...

noreply@blogger.com (Ruthie) — Mon, 02 Apr 2012 12:49:00 +0000

~ Hi hi my friends!

Today I'm blogging about some lovely style, fitness, and general-awesomeness inspiration :p
I definitely have Spring Fever and I can't seem to shake it! Well, it may still be cold over here in MT but maybe if I embrace it with some colorful, lively and beautiful things the warm weather will come around and stay for a while he-he.

♥ First up is Ombre manicures:

--- Inspiration---

I couldn't stop looking at this style on Pinterest so I decided to give it a try!
Here's my new colorful manicure:

I added a white glitter accent nail to spice it
up even just a lil' bit more ;-)

♥ Next up is: Colorful athletic shoes

--- Inspiration---

I don't need new shoes so I didn't get any new ones, but I sure have my eye on a few he-he.
I do have some colorful new socks to wear with my tennies though, thanks to my girl Kerri Baker :)

I already have these nice colorful Nikes...

... And now I have socks to match!!
My teammates are so thoughtful and sweet, thanks Kerri :)

♥ Last but not least, Bright gym tops and pants. Ooo la la :)

--- Inspiration---

The one and only IFBB Pro Amanda Latona!

My beautiful Bombshell teammate: Anna

Check out the colorful pants on my tall drink of
wata friend, and fellow Bikini competitor Bekah. Wowza!

I competely believe that if you like what you're wearing you workout harder, better, and have more fun!! Here's what I wore :)

Leopard, grrrrrr.

In honor of Amanda Latona, blue booty pants he-he

So that's how I am getting into the spring spirit! What're you doing to get ready for warm weather? (Besides working out and eating clean to get that bikini body for the beach! Riiiiggggghhhhttttt??? Not too late to start if you haven't!)

Spring is a GREAT time to take your workout OUTSIDE!

An awesome way to get COLORFUL, HEALTHY energy is Zipfizz drink mix, I honestly use this every day and as contest prep get tougher and more energy draining I am so grateful for the extra edge! Check it out here: www.zipfizz.com, and remember it's available at most Walmarts and Costcos among other stores.

I love me some Zipfizz.

Speaking of springtime and warmer weather, I'd like to send a huge thank you to Fuel Fitness in Butte, MT for sponsoring me with free tanning in preparation for my upcoming show- NPC Pittsburgh (5 more weeks!!) I love being able to warm up and get a golden glow even when it's blizzarding outside. Thank you thank you!! :)

Blessings,
~Ruthie

Long Month, Short Hair!

noreply@blogger.com (Ruthie) — Mon, 19 Mar 2012 17:13:00 +0000

Ello friends!

This week/month has been a little cray cray with senior design, workouts, take home tests, homework, housework, and food prep. You'd never guess that I was on Spring Break from school last week!!

I finished my body wellness cleanse on Thursday of last week and I have to say I am VERY pleased with the results :) After the 2 week process the final results were: 7 lbs LOST, better digestion, flatter tummy, and more energy! I consider it 100% success and I'd definitely recommend this product:

GNC Preventive Nutrition® Advanced Complex Body Cleansing

Now that that's over I can finally have my regularly scheduled cheat meal! Yesss... It will be pizza and a Quest bar for desert (or two hehe). If you haven't tried them you must. They are delicious. Warning: Highly nutritious, delicious, and addicting. Learn more about these little pieces of heaven here: Quest Nutrition Num num. I tried the Vanilla Almond Crunch and Cinnamon Roll flavors on Saturday night and OMG holy delicious. My all time favorite though is the Lemon bar. Tastes like desert. No, tastes better!

In other news, my hair is slowly but surely growing out. You may remember these long and luscious locks:

Well, now they're not quite as luscious... but longer than they were! A year ago I cut my hair SHORT:

I liked it, but MAN does it take forever to grow
back out! Choose wisely my friends ;)

I sent my hair to Locks of Love but I definitely missed my hair SO MUCH. I have been growing it back out ever since. Here's how far I am:

Getting there!

I'm sorry for the lack of posts, I was actually typing up this post last week when my computer got a virus and crashed. #FAIL. Thank God that the awesome team at Rite Fix Computers was able to remove it and recover my files. I still don't have it back yet, but hopefully it will be done by the end of the day. I hope ya'll stick around though and can forgive the delayed response!

I'm up on campus now (working on homework) so I better go actually do that ;)
Be blessed this week and don't forget to count your blessings!

~Ruthie

Spring Cleaning

noreply@blogger.com (Ruthie) — Sun, 04 Mar 2012 17:47:00 +0000

Good morning bloggie friends,

Today is the second Sunday of Lent. Do you participate in Lent?

I am not a Catholic, and although the tradition of Lent is historically Catholic, I have decided to refrain from eating sugar, processed foods, or "sweets" in general for the 40 days of Lent because I have quite a sweet tooth and giving up sweets is a big sacrifice to me and I want to do it to honor God.

Candyland is NOT the Promised Land

You might think,"Hey... don't you 'eat clean' anyways and follow a Team Bombshell diet plan? When would you ever be eating sweets anyways!?" Well, that my friends would be during my cheat meal. I always include either desert, chocolate, or chips/crackers/trail mix/snack mix (processed) in my cheat meal because they're just so yummy but I have decided to not do that because: it'll be hard for me, the desires of my stomach are an earthly pleasure, I don't actually need it, and I really enjoy it! So that is the sort of thing I want to give up to honor God and depend more on His joy, pleasure, and fullfilment than some silly food-joy.

No sweets? To honor God... No sweat :)

Let me back up... Not sure about this whole Lent thing? Here's a little excerpt explaining the concept:

~ "Lent is the Christian season of preparation before Easter. In Western Christianity, Ash Wednesday marks the first day, or the start of the season of Lent, which begins 40 days prior to Easter (Sundays are not included in the count). Lent is a time when many Christians prepare for Easter by observing a period of fasting, repentance, moderation and spiritual discipline. The purpose is to set aside time for reflection on Jesus Christ - his suffering and his sacrifice, his life, death, burial and resurrection. The 40 days of Lent, which precedes Easter is based on two Biblical accounts: the 40 years of wilderness wandering by the Israelites and our Lord's 40 days in the wilderness at which point He was tempted by Satan. Each year the Church observes Lent where we, like Israel and our Lord, are tested. We participate in abstinence, times of fasting, confession and acts of mercy to strengthen our faith and devotional disciplines. The goal of every Christian is to leave Lent a stronger and more vital person of faith than when we entered. "

I will definitely needs God's help and a close relationship with Him to give up sweets, so here goes! So far so good but let me tell you it is NOT easy. I am treating Lent as a Spring Cleaning in my heart and spirit of all the things that hinder my close relationship with my savior. After all:

"Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and He will give you everything you need." ~ Matthew 6:33

Another "Spring Cleaning" type thing I am doing is a "cleanse" to rid my body of toxins and help my digestive system move more smoothly. I am doing GNC's "Advanced Complete Body Cleansing - 14 Day Program."

You can find it here: GNC website. It is preformed in three phases and is described as follows...

Advanced 3 stage cleanse that gently supports overall digestive health without fasting

1st Stage: Cleanse and purify with a liquid blend of herbs, fruits and vegetables that gently removes toxins
2nd Stage: Detox with a natural herbal cleanse and clinically proven Sunfiber® to improve regularity
3rd Stage: Restore with high potency probiotics that are clinically proven to reduce bloating and stomach discomfort

~ Stage 1 is "CLEANSE: JUMPSTART LIQUID CLEANSE (Days 1 and 2)The Advanced Complex Body Cleansing 14- Day Program begins with a 2-day liquid cleanse.
~ Stage 2 is "DETOX: FIBER AND CLEANSING HERBS (Day 3 through 7)Continue the Advanced Complex Body Cleansing 14- Day Program with a 5-day regimen consisting of a Cleansing Proven Sunfiber® Sachet and a Cleansing Herbal Pack.
~ Stage 3 is RESTORE: PROBIOTIC AND HERBS RESTORATION (Days 8 through 14)The final phase of the Advanced Complex Body Cleansing 14- Day Program is a 7-day restoration that consists of a probiotic capsule to help replenish healthy intestinal flora and a daily Herbal Restore Pack that features a specialized blend of herbs designed to help replenish the body's beneficial digestive bacteria and digestive health, and probiotic capsule to help replenish healthy intestinal flora.

I did Stage 1 over the weekend, and I am on Day #1 of Stage 2 as of today! I'll let you guys know how it goes on my athlete page on Facebook: Ruthie Harrison Bikini Athlete Fan Page.

I'm off to church... Be blessed!
~ Ruthie

Muscle&Fitness Hers

noreply@blogger.com (Ruthie) — Wed, 29 Feb 2012 18:32:00 +0000

Happy Happy Leap Year-Day :)

I know I must say this all the time (because it's true all the time haha) but I got super busy over the weekend and didn't get a chance to post a Sunday Share! I gotta get back in the swing of things and start posting again. However, on Sunday I was doing food prep until 11pm so that was SO not happening this week lol.

BUT since we have an "extra" day this month I have some extra time! Not really, but I'd like to pretend so. Today's post is a pretty awesome opportunity I got to do back around Christmas, but it can out this month :) I shot a workout feature for Muscle & Fitness Hers magazine and it's out in the March/April issue!!

That's me!

The feature was my first ever fitness modeling gig! The workout is on the "5 Glutes Exercises for that Bikini Bottom" It's a great issue with tons of good content. In stores now ;)

We also filmed a cool training video in which I demonstrate all the exercises and talk a bit about my plans for competing this year. Officially, my nest show is NPC Pittsburgh on May 5th, then I'll be trying for my Pro Card in a Pro Qualifier after that. We (coach Shannon and I) haven't nailed down what we wanna do after Pittsburgh, but my next show after that might be Jr. USAs, as I mention in the video. A huge thank you to Muscle&Fitness Hers, Editor in Chief Mona Muresan, my coach Shannon Dey, Team Bombshell, my family, and the one and only Jesus for the never ending blessings :)

Here's the link to the video: Ruthie Harrison Muscle and Fitness Hers. Enjoy!

The 3 W's to Better Zzz's

noreply@blogger.com (Ruthie) — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 03:57:00 +0000

Hello my friends!
Today's topic is a little something I know tooooooo much about: Not getting a good night's sleep. How's your Zzzz's situation?

I have always struggled with my sleep patterns, either going to bed early enough, or not waking up early enough... or not staying asleep all night. For a while, I had a real struggle with waking up in the middle of the night and heading straight to the fridge! NOT good for a competition diet lemme tell ya that much.

Go to bed missy!!

Ugh, makes me tired just thinking about it! Whelp, I decided enough is enough and I have resolved to sleep better and get my 8 hours, dang it! Actually, a study done on athletes showed that when athletes slept 10 hours (not the usual 8) they preformed better athletically and showed more improvement over the same time as their sleep deprived counterparts. Are you listening yet!? Good, now read this aticle I recently wrote for our college paper here at Montana Tech (check out our website- The Technocrat), and then go to bed!

I give you ~ The 3 W’s to Better Zzz’s ~ (By yours truly)

Imagine this situation: You’re bright-eyed, energetic, and happy. Today you’re looking and feeling good. You’ve got the attitude, “Today is my day! I can do anything! Bring it on world, I’m ready.” Go get ‘em tiger. Now imagine this situation: You had to drag yourself out of bed this morning, you’re tired, cranky, irritable, and feeling less than your best. It feels like everything is hard today! Your attitude is more like, “I just want to skip today. Why does everything bad always happen to me? What next?” Now, recall your last week and ask yourself this – which situation more closely matches your average day? I hope you can say the happy-go-lucky one, but if you can’t, then definitely don’t stop reading now! Let’s solve your “bad-day syndrome” once and for all.

You may be surprised to find out that a “bad-day” actually has more to do with night than it has to do with day. How can this be? In a word: sleep; or lack thereof. Americans are sleeping less than ever. A 2005 National Sleep Foundation poll found that Americans averaged 6.9 hours of sleep per night, which represents a drop of about two hours per night since the 19th century. (Newsweek) Yet, science still holds that 8-10 hours is the ideal amount of sleep for adults to feel fully rested and function at their best. That’s the bad news. The worse news? A test conducted by the University of Chicago discovered that subjects that continuously slept less than 6 hours per night were as impaired as subjects who had been awake continuously for 48 hours. However, when the sleep deprived subjects were polled they did not report “sleepiness,” and they thought they were not being affected by their lack of sleep. So even if you don’t notice like in the situation described at the beginning of this article; you’re still being affected! I think it’s time we take “shut eye” into serious consideration. I know good habits aren’t formed overnight, but try these few tweaks to help you get more shut eye on a regular basis. The three W’s to better Zzz’s are:

1) Wake up at the same time – Every day. Your internal clock is an amazing thing, if you consistently go to bed and wake up at the same time your body will start getting itself ready to fall asleep at the proper time, making your sleep quality better so you’ll wake up feeling more rested and ready for the day. Try to keep your weekend wake-up time within 30 minutes of your regular wake-up time.

2) Wind Down – If you find yourself tossing and turning before you can fall sleep, you likely aren’t winding down properly. Your body can’t fall sleep directly after a mentally or physically taxing activity due to the high stress; your brain just isn’t ready! Try setting aside the 30 minutes before bedtime to do a relaxing activity like reading, taking a bath, journaling, drinking tea, or talking to a friend. TV may be one of your favorite pastimes, but avoid it directly before sleep; the light prevents your brain from releasing melatonin and serotonin, the “sleepy” hormones. Find a before-bed routine that works for you and do it consistently.

3) Workout - You may not be surprised to find this one on my list, but exercise should be on your sleep checklist too: studies show that exercise- even if only at a moderate pace for 30 minutes- dramatically increases your body’s ability to fall asleep, and improves your sleep quality. Ideally, exercise should be performed in the morning so you’re be energized at the start of your day, not the end. The bottom line: You can sweat your way to sweet dreams. Win, win. I’ll see you at the gym!

Ahhh that's better....

So that's the W's now go get your Z's :D

Blessings,

Ruthie

Bombshell SUPER-Camp

noreply@blogger.com (Ruthie) — Sat, 18 Feb 2012 23:47:00 +0000

Hey hey ya'll!

I hope every one is having a great weekend. Who's stoked it's a 3-day weekend!? Silly question... I know I'm definitely excited for an extra day to catch up. Especially since I was away last weekend and got a LOT of laundry and food prep, homework, and work to catch up on.

Speaking of being away, I was in Daytona, FL at Team Bombshell Supercamp.

Think of it as 3 intense days of boot camp style workouts, posing, stage makeup lessons, modeling and media marketing lectures, Q&A with IFBB Pro girls, a fabulous dinner, new friends...

"Give me 20 pop squats!!" Coach V. got our butts in gear (literally)
and made us earn our Saturday night banquet dinner

Plyo time!

My group after running the bridge, TWICE!

More plyos...

Finally a short rest to listen to a lecture on modeling in fitness magazines!

All that, AND a new suit! The amazing CJ of CJ's Elite suits is making me not one, but TWO new suits for the upcoming season!! (the details are secret until we get closer to competition time ;) ) She is THE BEST choice to get your bikini or figure competition suit. She does all the Pros, basically everyone: Diana Graham, Heather Nappi, Vannessa Campbell, Jaime Baird, Nicole Nagrani, India Paulino... the list goes on! I am so so blessed and CJ is sponsoring me and upgrading me to "bling the $h!t out of my suit" from the basic one I ordered. Her suits are expensive, and I couldn't afford the really elaborate ones but God has his ways and I am blessed to get one even though I can't afford it!

Another amazing blessing was being awarded "Most Improved Bikini Bombshell of 2011" by my flippin' awesome coach, Shannon Dey. It's all because of her I came this far since joining in May 2011 and I can't WAIT to see what 2012 brings!

I <3 this woman so much, she's the best
coach I could ever ask for and is loving, hilarious,
hard-working, and beautiful to boot!

The whole trip was a huge blessing actually. I had SUCH a blast, grew closer to my Bombshell teammates, learned how to pose a bazzillion times better, and learned a ton about the modeling industry, networking, working booth at expos, how to work with photographers, how to be a good example/role model, "branding" yourself, and most importantly... how to enjoy the whole process! Jaime Baird had a great lecture about finding your joy along the path to your goals and making the journey enjoyable for your loved ones too.

Jaime Baird is a truly beautiful woman inside and out

I love going to camp because I get to bond with my friends/teammates and make new friends too. That is one of the best parts of competing being on Team Bombshell. It's like a family. We all love, support, and cheer each other on which makes it all so so much easier when we get home and have to face life's challenges, temptations and set-backs. Life is better with back up!!

New friends and re-united friends!
I'm in the middle in the black dress

My roomie and WA homie Mary and I

My other roomie and homegirl Leslie :)

Bombshell NorthWest girls!! We're all from WA, ID, or MT.. and
we're taking the world by storm ;) Watch out!

After camp was over my roomies, Mary and Leslie, and my friend who just graduated Montana Tech where I still go, Danielle, went to this cool little town called St. Augustine to sight-see and explore. It was such a cute little town! Apparently it's the oldest town in America and was established by Spanish explorers way way back. There's a fort, cathedrals, and cool old buildings all over the place- integrated into new shops and restaurants. Defintely check it out of you're ever arounf Daytona, FL. It's just about 30 min up the coast.

That's all! Until next time my friends... be blessed!!

~ Ruthie

A Bombshell Valentines Day ♥

noreply@blogger.com (Ruthie) — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 17:32:00 +0000

~ Happy Valentines Day to all my Lovely Readers!! ~

My awesome friend Bobby Black made me
this cute little V-day card! I hope you like :)

I just want to give you all a great big hug and say THANK YOU for making me feel so loved, blessed, and joyful. I got to meet a couple readers over the weekend when I was down in Daytona over the weekend at Bombshell SuperCamp whipping my booty into shape and WOW... I am soooo honored to be looked up to as a fitness motivator and inspiration by the very women who inspire ME. How lucky am I?!? Or as I like to say it, blessed.

I would not be able to keep such a positive attitude, and a desire and love for the sport of Bikini competitions, and the world of fitness if I didn't have my Bombshell teammates (sistas), my amazing blog readers, my family, and my friends who've been there long before I ever stepped on a stage or typed a word onto this blog. I thank and love each one of you from the bottom of my heart.

As Philippians 2:2 says, You "complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, and being in full accord." ... Without like-minded fitness guys and gals like YOU I'd feel oh so alone. But I don't, I feel loved and appreciated :)

I'll be posting photos from Bombshell Camp later this week, but in the meanwhile, stop by my Facebook fan page: Ruthie Harrison - Bikini Athlete Fan Page, there's a few pictures posted there!

Lots of love,
~Ruthie

Sunday Share ... Food is Fuel + We're SO Blessed

noreply@blogger.com (Ruthie) — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 04:26:00 +0000

Hey ya'll sorry to not post as much lately, I've been quite busy with school and reffing... I reffed 6 games in the last 2 days alone! Unfortunately that led to me getting sick and sleeping from 4pm yesterday to 2pm today :/ I still feel quite under the weather so today's post will be short.

I hope you all enjoyed my last couple posts on food prep, "eating clean," and dieting tips. My friend and Bombshell Teammate, Abby Clark, also wrote about food on her blog, "The Bikini Competitor" and it's a really GOOD article filled with information. Check it out here: Food Is Fuel.

Also, be sure to stop by my Facebook Fan Page to see all the photos from my VEGAS trip and photoshoot with Bobby Black of B2 Photography. They turned out so so good. He's an amazing man too; he'd just gotten back from a missions trip to an orphanage in Haiti with Jamie Eason and her fiance the week before our shoot. He showed me some of his photos from the trip and I was blown away. See some of the photos for yourself by clicking here: Haiti Album.

Photo taken by Bobby Black

We are so blessed to live in such luxury and lack of need in the United States. I mean, these kids hadn't even ever had a lollipop in their entire lives and we give them away free at our bank's tellers. I get to make a huge difference in a child's life by providing my Compassion International child, Newton, with enough money each month to pay for him and his mother's food, and enough money for him to go to school. I also get to fund the Aids Initiative Project in his village to provide the whole town with fresh clean water and fund research to help prevent aids from spreading. It's such a small sacrifice for me... only about $40 a month... but it's the WORLD to him.

I'm signing off to go sleep some more... I hope ya'll had a great weekend!
God bless,

~ Ruthie

Sunday Share... My Top Ten Apple Apps

noreply@blogger.com (Ruthie) — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 02:57:00 +0000

10 Best Free Apps of 2011

There’s plenty of jammin’ iPhone apps that won’t cost you a cent. 2011 was another great year for Apple, despite the loss of its fearless leader, Steve Jobs. In honor of the media giant, or as I like to call it, the Big Apple, here’s my top 10 apps of 2011.

1. Bible - Join over 35 million people who read, listen and share God’s Word using the Bible App, myself included. At press time (I always wanted to say that), I am 78% done reading the Holy book, which is much farther than I’d be without this app. There’s a huge selection of 200+ free Bible versions and 200+ plans to help you track your progress. My favorite part? Bible will read to you with its audio feature – complete with theme music, sound effects, and voices- oh my!

2. Angry Birds Free – Unlike Facebook, which one could argue can also be used for the “research” and “educational” purposes, as well as sheer time-wasting; Angry Birds is a one trick time-wasting pony. But spend a couple Angry hours chasing pigs and you’ll discover what a gratifying waste of time it is.

3. Facebook – Let’s not try to pretend you~~waste~~ spend far more time on this site than an other. And why not when it’s just as easy to update your status strolling down the sidewalk as it is from the comfort of your bedroom. Notice: Facebooking while walking may result in running into doors, light posts, railings, and other pedestrians. For the students, warning...Facebook may also decrease your grade point.

4. Redbox – Movie rentals for only $1.20 a pop? Major DUH… Download the free app to reserve your copy of the hottest new releases before your roommate can beat you down to Wal-Mart to pick it up. Winning!

5. PandoraFree/Spotify (tie) – Gone is the age of illegal MP3 pirating, welcome to the largest free and legal music library you could ever want. Pandora makes it easy to discover new artists with a similar sound to musicians you already dig, and save your stations for later listening. Spotify’s coolest feature? You can link it to Facebook (#3), and swap playlists with friends, or tell all your friends what you’re listening to. You know, because they care.

7. Groupon – In this economy you can’t afford to not be a savy shopper, Groupon is by far one of the best coupon apps out there, bringing deals up to 90% off straight to your phone. You’ll only see deals in your area (Billings/Bozeman is an option), so you won’t be left drooling over the 2 for one skydiving adventure in Houston, TX. Discover deals on dining, travel, excursions, goods, electronics, and more!

8. SparkPeople – Keep your fitness spark alive with the iPhone Food & Fitness Tracker. This app is designed to help you track your weight loss progress or healthy lifestyle goals with a calorie tracker, access to meal plans, a log for your fitness and calories burned, and more. Detailed weight and calorie reports give you feedback on your progress, and the app will fully sync with your current SparkPeople.com online account.

9. IWBNIN (I Was Broke Now I’m Not) – Budgeting is now easier than ever thanks to this app with built in categories for multiple income sources, various expenses, and common monthly costs such as gas, rent and groceries. Best feature? The app automatically calculates the percentage of your income that goes to each expense so you can track where most of your hard earned dollars are going.

10. NFL Mobile – Summons the magical powers of knowing where the ball is, the score, quarter, and stats of your favorite football teams whenever they’re playing without interrupting your flourishing social commitments. Now that’s dedication.

I am seriously getting some playing time out of #9, #7, #3, and #1... Which ones would you use the most?

Bahaha... unfortunately, this can be all too true.

I hope your weekend was amazing and you're recharged to have other great week... I'm excited for my new Bombshell eating plan that starts tomorrow and reffing some more basketball this week. Good times!

Blessings,

Ruthie xoxo

Las Vegas Weekend Recap

noreply@blogger.com (Ruthie) — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 03:38:00 +0000

Hi friends! Well, I have returned from the fabulous Las Vegas... and back to reality :p I had an amazing trip and got some incredible shots at my fitness modeling photo shoot with Bobby Black.

The view from our hotel, the Wynn

The Wynn's gorgeous lobby

I traveled with my friend from New York city, Chris, and he was kind enough to pay my whole way and even treat me to dinner and shows on both Saturday and Sunday night. We saw Celine Dion on Saturday night and went to a really good Italian restaurant (so Chris said, I had to be good because my photoshoot was on Sunday.. I did have steak though!)

Chris and I at Celine's show

Celine Dion's show

It was worth the sacrifice though, Sunday's pictures turned out sooo good!

One of the shots from Sunday's shoot with Bobby Black

On Sunday night we got to go to Cirque du Soleil's show on the Beatle's called "LOVE." It was totally mind-blowing. I kinda felt like the show probably looked like what it would feel to be on drugs. I don't know how that'd feel, but I think I do now!! Part of the show had rollerbladding hippies haha:

Crazy circus stuff

Sunday night we went to the most amazing restaurant and got the Chef's choice 4-course dining experience... and boy was it incredible. It started with an appetizer, then the BEST lobster pot pie, then steak, and finished with a dessert sampler of a bunch of different chocolate dishes. DELECTABLE.

Part of our dessert sampler was mini root beer floats
and chocolate chip cookies. YUM! It was all so good.

We also chose to do the wine pairing carefully selected by our chef for each course. Four glasses of wine later I was definitely having a good night :p

Chris and I after dinner

And a good night to you! I'm off to bed. As always my friends... blessings :)

~Ruthie

Food Prep: The Key to Fitness Success

noreply@blogger.com (Ruthie) — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 18:49:00 +0000

The key to successfully maintaining a clean diet is planning ahead. I know this is not everyone's strong point but it is vital to first - HAVE a plan, and second - FOLLOW your plan.

Plan.. then Prepare! Here we go, today we're discussing: Food Prep

Get ready to bust out the Tuperware, or see below - plastic baggies!

I use plastic baggies to store my food to save space. It also allows me
to prepare further ahead because I don't have to worry about buying
3 weeks worth of tuperware!

I have a the benefit of a personized food plan sent to me every month by my coach, Shannon Dey, because I am a Team Bombshell athlete. I would not be able to train hard, stay healthy, and make the necessary changes and improvements in my physique if I wasn't following a solid nutritional plan. Food is the fuel your body needs to build muscle, metabolize fat, think quickly, fight disease and repair injury, which is why it is vital that you're meeting your daily calorie, protein, carbohydrate and fat needs.

My food plan is likely more strict and repetative than others (At Team Bombshell, we repeat the same day's worth of meals for an entire month - unless changes are required to meet our goals) but there's no reason you can't apply the same techniques I use to prepare my food to your own plan!

If you dont already pay attention to your diet, I strongly encourage you to jump on the clean-eating band wagon. I PROMISE you the results will floor you and you'll be happier and healthier for life! Read my last post - Fit Lifestyle: What Should You Eat? for all the details.

Eat CLEAN. Train MEAN.

Remember: Abs are made in the kitchen!

If your diet is poor, your progress will be slow.

So, without further ado here's how I prepare all my food for 1-2 weeks in advance so all I have to do during the week is pop it in a microwave! (or eat it cold, which happens more often than not)

I do all my food prep on a single day, usually Sundays. There's a few things that're essential to this process working smoothly:

1) Decide what you're making - what meals will you be eating? What foods you need to buy? Do you need cooking gear (pans, baggies, muffin pans, ect)?
2) Grocery shop ahead of time and always...
3) Bring a grocery list - don't leave home without it!
4) Set aside 3-5 hours to do all your cooking - this may sound like a lot of time, but until you've done it a couple times and are good at using your time efficiently it will take longer. I recommend just assuming it will take an afternoon, and go to work!
5) Enlist help if possible - I don't have this luxury, but if you have kids/hubby/roomates/friends you can snag to help you, do it! They can chop, pre-heat, watch the rice, flip the chicken, baggie, ect... make it a fun time to bond so they'll want to help again :)

Okay, so now that we're prepared, let's cook!

- I always start with my proteins. I usually am eating chicken, tillapia, and flank steak in my meal plan. I usually cook all my meat on the stove top. I have tried baking my fish, or slow-cooking my chicken (which is delicious!) but I've found these methods to be more time consuming.

- Preheat your pans while you cut the meat into bite-size pieces. Also, start boiling water if you'll need it (see next step). Preheat the oven too, usually 350 deg F, if you'll be using it to cook your sweet potatoes or other vegetables.

- Next, it's carb time. I usually have brown rice, sweet potatoes, and whole wheat pasta. On the stove top, multi-task your 4 oven burners to cook your meats and the carb that will be in the same meal at the same time as that meat. Ie, Meal #2 is chicken with brown rice and green beans; so cook the chicken and the rice at the same time. This will insure you can COMPLETE a week's worth of that meal with all the "components" - protein, carb, vegetable/oil (if any). It's a huge waste of time and space to have too many meals uncompleted at the same.

Here's what it looks like - I have my proteins: chicken
breast and shrimp cooking on 2 burners. And my
carbs: rice and whole wheat noodles cooking on the other
2 burners.

Just a note in case you were curious, this is the pasta I usually use. You can find it at Safeway. Any whole wheat pasta will do though! For rice, I just buy basic brown rice.

Eating Right Whole Grain Penne pasta

- Your oven should be ready to cook your sweet potatoes or other vegetables, so put those in so they can get started, and continue to cut up any other meats and vegetables you'll be using. For example, I cut up my steak while my shrimp and chicken were cooking because I knew the shrimp would cook fast and I'd have a free burner soon. Keep an eye on it though! I've burned many a chicken breast :p

I bake my asparagus at 375 def F until they're still crunchy
but softened a bit. Remember, you'll most likely be microwaving
your food after this before you eat it.

- Keep rotating your proteins, and set aside finished meat on cookie sheets to cool before bagging. This frees up your pan for the next protein.

Get everything laid out BEFORE you start bagging. I use: Ziploc baggies,
sandwich or snack size (depending on the meal size) and a basic food scale

- The rest of my vegetables, besides asparagus and sweet potatoes - like green beans, peas, or zucchini, I don't cook before I bag my meals. I find they get cooked enough when I microwave the meal before I eat it OR I just eat it raw if I eat my food cold.

- As all the "components" of say, Meal 2, get done: protein, carb, vegetable/oil (if any) you can begin to bag. Don't wait till EVERYTHING is done to start bagging. Things will still be in the oven, on the stove top, ect, but this definitely has to be a multi-tasking process to be efficient. As you can see in the picture below, I still have meat cooking on the stove as I baggie Meal #2:

Multi-tasking inproves food prep efficiency by utilizing the down time of
waiting for your other food to finish cooking.

- If you weigh your meat, do that first and put that it the baggie FIRST. This way you don't have to "tare" or "zero" your scale between each individual bag like you would if it already had vegetables or something in it. Weigh out ALL of the specific type of protein, even if you have say 8 days worth of chicken, but only 6 days worth of rice to go with it... you can freeze the extra chicken and it'll already be weighed and ready for the next time you prep your food.

- Then, add the carb. If it's rice, measure out a "serving". Usually 1/2 cup but varies by dietary needs. Last veggies, add a "serving" of those- usually 1/2 cup too. Last, add any olive oil or vinegar, salsa, ect to complete the meal.

- Wash your hands and close all your baggies at once. This may seem like it doesn't matter but it saves time if your brain only has to focus on "zip the top, zip the top, zip the top" at one time instead of: "open bag, add meat, adjust weight...zip top... open bag, add meat..." Wash your hands so you don't get food on the outside of the bag or in the zip top.

- Write the meal number on the outside of the Ziploc with a Sharpie pen.
Like so:

- Repeat this process: bag protein, add carb, add veggies, add oils/misc, close bags, label - as all the "components" of your other meals finish cooking. Ie: the fish and noodles finish cooking... bag meal 3 - fish, pasta and 1/2 cup peas. And so on.

- Stow finished meals in the fridge to keep them food-safe and keep them out of your way as you finish. Finally, when ALL meals are done you're ready to assemble each day's worth of food.

- I use a gallon size Ziploc bag for each day, I place one baggie of meals 1-6 in the Ziploc bag and freeze them. I leave 2 days worth unfrozen in the fridge and replenish the fridge from the freezer as the week progresses. Here's what my freezer looks like right now:

Warning: your roommates may not appreciate you hogging the freezer space :p

A note on carbs - It's often hard to gauge how much rice/pasta or how many sweet potatoes you'll need, so if you have too much rice or noodles it's okay to put them in a Tupperware and freeze them until you need them next week. Just be sure to plan ahead and thaw them out before you need them!

Whew! I feel like I just prepped for the week by writing that! Oh wait, I already did that :) I'm set for the next 8 days and I don't have to cook a thing!! Okay, I DO cook my breakfast fresh every morning. This is because it's usually egg whites and oatmeal so it's easy to whip up. If I'm traveling I'll make breakfast ahead of time too by making a protein pancake out of the egg whites and oatmeal in a bowl in the microwave a baggie-ing it like everything else.

Good luck preppin'! Let me know by commenting below or contacting me via Facebook if you have any questions on my methods :)

Blessings,
~ Ruthie

''It's not the will to win, but the will to prepare to win that makes the difference.''

- Paul Bryant

Sunday Share ... Coffey

noreply@blogger.com (Ruthie) — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 00:44:00 +0000

Hi guys,

Today's share I recently discovered on You Tube and immediately know I wanted to tell anyone and everyone about this amazing and spirit -filled musician.

His name is Coffey Anderson, and he's kinda awesome. But what's more awesome is his relentless and passionate love for God and how he shares it. Take a listen to one of my favorites, "All Ye" below:

I encourage you to peruse his YouTube channel for a variety of Christian, country, and even "Christ mix"ed modern hits like Rihana's Umbrella, Lil' Wayne's "Lollipop," and Leona Lewis's "Bleeding Love." He has a BUNCH of videos because he has a "video of the day" series, and often will share the chords/strum patterns for his songs which is cool for anyone out there that plays guitar. Just go to www.youtube.com and search "Coffey Anderson"

Another good one: "Wait On the Lord"

Blessings,

Ruthie

Fit Lifestyle: What should you eat?

noreply@blogger.com (Ruthie) — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 21:32:00 +0000

Today I want to talk about food - I get a lot of questions about what I eat, how often I eat and how many calories a day I eat so I wanted to address that.

What to EAT?

I actually don't know the specific number of calories I eat per day because I follow a diet that is constructed around portion size and weight, not number of calories. Often, calorie counts on foods are at best an estimate of that actual macro nutrient content of the food, and the actual number of calories (or as I like to think of it "energy") cannot be accurately determined! For example a "banana has 100 calories" but not all bananas are created equal! Some are bigger, longer, riper, from a different region, ect... all which could effect their calorie, vitamin, sugar, or fiber content.

Bananas come in all shapes and sizes, just like people!

So, to answer the question of "How many calories do I eat per day?" I have to say, I don't know! And, it varies! I know if I am not seeing the fat loss I want I will slightly decrease my food intake, usually from carbs, and see what happens in a couple weeks. Same goes for muscle building, I will increase calories in my post-workout meal and maybe add a slow-digesting protein, like a steak salad or a casein protein shake to my meal plan right before bed. After making sure all your food choices are CLEAN, and beneficial for your body, personal diet largely depends on the specific person! Everyone needs to find their own balance and if I eat 1500 calories in a given day that doesn't necessarily mean you should too.

That being said, here's a typical day of my diet and training:
6am - first thing in the morning take a fat burner before 1 hr of cardio (varies)

8am - Meal #1 oatmeal, egg whites, flax oil

10:30am - Meal #2 a serving a fish, veggies, and sweet potato

1pm - Meal #3 a serving of chicken on spinach greens with balsamic & olive oil
1/2 serving of fruit

3pm - Meal #4 1 scoop of protein powder, 2 rice cakes and coconut oil

4pm - Evening lifting session. I usually hit legs 2-3 times a week and shoulders/chest, back/biceps/triceps the other days. I do abs and calves twice a week too.

6:30pm - Meal #5 Right after training (I eat in the car on the way home from the gym!) I eat a serving of ground turkey, whole wheat pasta, olive oil and green beans
9pm - Meal #5 a serving of flank steak and sweet potato salad greens with balsamic and olive oil

10pm - Bedtime! Rest and recovery :)

You may be wondering, "What is a 'serving of ___?" Well for proteins, this is anywhere from 3-6oz for women. And like I said, it varies for me! If you don't have a food scale, it's about a palm size. For vegetables, portion size is basically unlimited.

Be sure to eat your veggies!

Veggies aren't something that contain a lot of calories, carbs, or sugars; unless we're talking starchy/sugary veggies like potato, sweet potato, corn, or peas. Don't go crazy with these. About half a sweet potato should do it, and the other veggies have portion size given on their packaging (ie: 1/2 cup or 2/3 cup). For fats and oils, 3 tablespoons of healthy fats (olive, flax or coconut oil) should be your max (as a female, men may need more).

A typical plate with correct portion sizes

You may also be wondering, "What foods are considered "clean" or contest-prep approved?" This is by no means an exhaustive list, but here's an example of "clean eating" foods:

almond milk
egg substitutes
skinless/boneless chicken breasts
tilapia fillets
tuna in water
salmon fillets
balsamic vinegar
bran cereal
plain oats, cream of wheat
brown rice, couscous
dried beans (black, kidney, etc)
peanut butter, almond butter, walnut butter
mixed raw nuts (almonds, walnuts, etc)
extra virgin olive oil spray
raisins
bananas
avocados
blueberries
strawberries
grapes
apples
oranges
prunes
spinach
peas
broccoli
asparagus
mushrooms
peppers
tomatoes
onions
carrots
sweet potatoes
green tea

Find the definition and philosophy behind clean eating here:www.eatcleandiet.com

Tosca Reno, the woman behind the Clean Eating Movement

Here's a very complete list of BodyBuilding (aka fit lifestyle) foods, courtesy of Clutch Fitness: Clutch Fitness Bodybuilder's Grocery List

So that covers the basics of WHAT I eat in my diet, next time I'll discuss HOW I prep all my food and plan ahead so I can eat clean all the time. It's not easy, but it can be simple if you learn a system that works. I'll share my system next time! :)

Next time: FOOD PREP :)

Hope this helps, and as always... blessings,
~ Ruthie

Living 4 Eternal Bliss

No Sex, No Glory

Art Imitating Life, or Life Imitating Art?

Who I Want To Be

Holy Life-Changes Batman!!

Now THAT'S a Bachelorette Party!!

Sunday Share.... Neon

~*~ Weekend Pictures + Zipfizz Giveaway!!! ~*~

The Graduate

2012 NPC Pittsburgh Recap

Be Strong & Courageous

Almost Done!?

"Taxing" Times

Ooo Pretty Colors...

Long Month, Short Hair!

GNC Preventive Nutrition® Advanced Complex Body Cleansing

Spring Cleaning

Muscle&Fitness Hers

The 3 W's to Better Zzz's

Bombshell SUPER-Camp

A Bombshell Valentines Day ♥

Sunday Share ... Food is Fuel + We're SO Blessed

Sunday Share... My Top Ten Apple Apps

Las Vegas Weekend Recap

Food Prep: The Key to Fitness Success

Sunday Share ... Coffey

Fit Lifestyle: What should you eat?

~~ Weekend Pictures + Zipfizz Giveaway!!! ~~